State agencies and nonprofits administering a $7 billion solar initiative have been told they may receive letters later this week from EPA informing them that their grants have been terminated.
Five people involved in the so-called Solar for All initiative, some of whom were granted anonymity because of fears of retribution, told POLITICO’s E&E News on Tuesday that grantees had been warned they could receive the notifications Thursday. The program, which was included in the Biden administration’s climate law, pays for rooftop solar panels for low- and moderate-income homeowners, as well as community projects.
EPA’s decision, which was first reported by The New York Times, is not thought to be final.
Jillian Blanchard, vice president of climate change and environment justice at Lawyers for Good Government, which has worked closely with grantees, said outreach to EPA was ongoing. And some grant recipients said they were still hopeful that the agency would let the project continue.
“At this point, I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that the grants would be canceled,” said Michelle Moore, the CEO of Groundswell, a nonprofit that is administering the program in eight Southeastern states.
Solar for All is the third leg of the so-called Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund — a broader climate law program intended to help underwrite the clean energy transition with a focus on benefits to underserved communities.
EPA under the Trump administration has already terminated $20 billion in grants under the initiative’s other two programs. Nonprofits are fighting those moves in court.
It’s unclear what reason EPA will give for terminating the grants, if it does. The president’s massive tax and spending bill enacted last month included language to rescind unspent GGRF dollars. But Solar for All recipients said at the time that they didn’t expect it to effect them because even EPA agreed that their grants were spent — or “obligated” — and thus ineligible for rescission.
“With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, EPA is working to ensure Congressional intent is fully implemented in accordance with the law,” EPA said in response to a question about the potential terminations.
The solar initiative has been seen to have more bipartisan support than the other “green bank” programs, and recipients have had access to their grant funds since February even as EPA labored to claw back other climate law dollars.
The Biden EPA funded Solar for All projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Most are being run by state agencies under both Republican and Democratic governors with backing from congressional delegations.
Hilary Shohoney, chief of staff for the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which is administering the program for Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, said her organization had been meeting with the states’ elected representatives in Washington and in their districts to try to shore up support for the program.
“We do have a sense that they’ll back these projects, and we’re hoping that they’re going to make the choice to stand up for their communities who want this,” she said.
Some Solar for All programs help finance rooftop solar, while others offer residents and community organizations a chance to share in savings from community solar projects.
“This program is cutting electricity bills for people when electricity bills are going up all over the country,” said Moore. “America needs every electron.”
“When this [potential termination] becomes visible, I suspect that the EPA will hear a lot of folks who are displeased with what this action would mean for raising people’s energy bills more,” she added.
